This paper reviews indigenous Beninese food resources as potential ingredients for complementary infant foods with the aim to develop affordable formulations for low-income households in each agro-ecological zone of the country. Potential ingredients were selected on their documented nutritional value. The selected foods encompass 347 food resources, namely 297 plant products from home gardens or collected from natural vegetation and 50 animals, either domesticated or from the wild. The compiled data reveal that the distribution of the available food resources was unbalanced between agro-ecological zones. Only a few animal ingredients are obtainable in northern Benin. Most resources are seasonal, but their availability may be extended. A high variation was observed in energy and nutrient contents. Antinutritional factors were identified in some resources, but processing techniques were reported to reduce their presence in meals. In general, ingredients from local tree foods (Adansonia digitata, Parkia biglobosa) were adequate as sources of nutrients for complementary infant foods. Based on this review, local foods for the development of complementary food formulas for Beninese infants and children may be selected for each agro-ecological zone. The approach used is exemplary for other sub-Saharan African countries in need of complementary infant foods. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

RESUME L'épi de maïs frais bouilli est l'un des aliments obtenus de la transformation du maïs. L'objectif de l'étude est d'évaluer les facteurs socio-économiques des acteurs, de caractériser la technologie de production et de déterminer la qualité nutritionnelle du produit. A cet effet, une enquête semi-structurée a été réalisée à Cotonou et Parakou, deux villes cosmopolites du Bénin. Parallèlement, les échantillons collectés ont été soumis aux analyses physicochimiques. Les résultats ont montré que la production des épis de maïs frais bouillis est une activité féminine prédominante en période de disponibilité. La technologie de préparation des épis de maïs frais bouillis diffère d'une région à une autre. Ainsi, à Parakou, l'épi de maïs frais est bouilli avec les spathes alors qu'il est bouilli sans les spathes à Cotonou. Selon les consommateurs, la date post-récolte affecte le goût et la texture des maïs bouillis. Pour les transformatrices-vendeuses et les consommateurs, un bon maïs frais bouilli doit avoir une texture moins dure et un goût succulent. Les caractéristiques nutritionnelles du maïs frais bouilli révèlent une richesse en glucides totaux (63,4 à 64,6% matière sèche), en protéines (12,5% matière sèche), en minéraux (1,6% matière sèche) et composés phénoliques (5,5 à 6,1% matière sèche). © 2017 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Mots clés : Maïs, valeur nutritionnelle, appréciation, consommateurs, Bénin.Production and nutritional quality of cob of boiled fresh maize consumed in Benin ABSTRACT Cob of boiled fresh maize is one of foods obtained from maize processing. The aim of the study was to evaluate the socio-economic factors of the stakeholders, to characterize the production technology and to determine the nutritional quality of the product. A semi-structured survey was carried out in Cotonou and Parakou, two cosmopolitan cities of Benin. On the other hand, the collected samples have been subjected to physicochemical analysis. The results have shown that the production of cob of boiled fresh maize is a prevalent female activity in its available period. The technology of production of cob of boiled fresh maize differs from one area to another. Thus, in Parakou, the cob of fresh maize is boiled with the spathes whereas it F. HONGBETE et al. / Int. J. Biol. Chem. Sci. 11(5): 2378-2392 2379 is boiled without the spathes in Cotonou. According to consumers, the post-harvest date affects the taste and texture of boiled maize. For the processor-sellers and consumers, a good boiled fresh maize must have a less hard texture and luscious taste. The nutritional characteristics of boiled maize reveal a high total carbohydrate (63.4 to 64.6% dry matter), protein (12.5% dry matter), mineral (1.6% dry matter) and phenolic compounds (5.5 to 6.1% dry matter).

Lanhouin is a traditional fermented salted fish made from the spontaneous and uncontrolled fermentation of whole salted cassava fish (Pseudotolithus senegalensis) mainly produced in the coastal regions of West Africa. The combined effects of NaCl, citric acid concentration, and marination time on the physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of the fish fillet used for Lanhouin production were studied using a Doehlert experimental design with the objective of preserving its quality and safety. The marination time has significant effects on total viable and lactic acid bacteria counts, and NaCl content of the marinated fish fillet while the pH was significantly affected by citric acid concentration and marination duration with high regression coefficient R 2 of 0.83. The experiment showed that the best conditions for marination process of fish fillet were salt ratio 10 g/100 g, acid citric concentration 2.5 g/100 g, and marination time 6 h. These optimum marinating conditions obtained present the best quality of marinated flesh fish leading to the safety of the final fermented product. This pretreatment is necessary in Lanhouin production processes to ensure its safety quality.

Sixty samples of a traditional flavouring agent and taste enhancer (FATE) locally referred to asLanhouin obtained by spontaneous fermentation of cassava fish (Pseudotolithus sp.) and king fish (Scomberomorus tritor), used as traditional condiment to enhance the flavour of many dishes were purchased from processing sites and markets, for physico-chemical and microbiological characterization using standard methods. FATE samples exhibited similar water activity level (0.75-0.77), variable pH values (6.88-7.68), variable amounts of dry matter (43.4-47.2 g/100 g), salt (18.7-26.6 g/100 g DM), protein (49.2-53.8 g/100 g DM), lipid (10.8-47.4 g/100 g DM), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (24.8 to 27.1 mg malonaldehyde/kg DM), total volatile nitrogen (453.6 to 618.6 mg N/100 g DM) and acidity index (1.7 to 4.9 g oleic acid /100 g DM), various organic acids and histamine contents within acceptable limit of 20 mg/100 g for 87% of samples analysed. For all these chemical components, significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed between fish species and between sampling places. Total viable counts were ranged between 3.6 to 4.2 Log cfu/g. No Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes were found in any FATE sample. The technological flora such as lactic acid bacteria were enumerated (1.2 Log cfu/g) in 42% of samples while coagulase negative Staphylococci were found in all the FATE samples (2.9-3.9 Log cfu/g).

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